Ahmedabad, Gujarat | 2024

Parikrama is a new house on a large green plot of land in the western, growing, edge of Ahmedabad for an introverted family. The core idea was an architectural strategy to circumambulate the land. To maximise the luxury of space, the mass of the house hugs the boundary, rooms looking inward through a deep verandah, onto an oversized, planted courtyard. Verandahs of varied widths wrap three sides of the central courtyard, which is thickly planted, and lifted up to the viewer’s eye level, with views and foci that shift as one moves around. Along the fourth edge, a ramp rises up, connecting the lower verandah to open terraces in the corners of the house, themselves connected by a narrow passage concealed between the walls.

A miniature inspired plan drawing brings together the influences and heritage of the royal family who commissioned the house with architectural strategies at play.

In the courtyard, a central lawn is surrounded by corners planted with dense native plants to produce a healthy ecosystem in the center of the house. An old neem tree was saved and surrounded by new grasses. An array of carefully selected plants have already invited birds and butterflies to make themselves at home in the central court, while a lone, elevated tree perches on the peak of the roof. A slim verandah shades bedrooms along the courtyard, opening to the land. A series of fountains and water friendly plants line the first step of the landscape, strategically placed to passively cool the breeze as it is drawn through the house. The main living and dining space sits off the wide verandah, behind a series of teakwood doors, anchored in a marble partition. A tall teakwood panel separates the kitchen from the dining, and rich array of brass and glass fixtures are suspenders from the sloped roof to light the tall space.

Stained, patterned glass brings soft light in from the thick, protective exterior wall, reflected by the marble dust gutai plaster and grey terrazzo tiles. Bright furniture pieces soak in all the light and evoke a strong connection to the traditions of craft and bespoke design that have characterised the houses of royal families for centuries in India. The dining table for ten is made with a green marble slab inlaid with semi precious stones, a stone inlay craft that Agra is famous for. Traditional embossed, patterned glass allows light through the teakwood partition between the kitchen and dining areas. The marble partitions were carved from full slabs and shaped into columns that support slotted marble screens - the connection between outside and in, mediated by the soft glow of diffuse light passing through the stone.